people use the internet
Of the population has a disability
Legal Demand letters are sent to businesses each year
Key Takeaways
A Great Post – LinkedIn user share real wisdom
Why This Post Spoke To Me – things are getting easier, that doesn’t make them better.
Final Thoughts – a list of considerations if you’re marketing or about to.
LinkedIn did a fun thing and suggested a post to me the other day via an e-mail notice. Typically I delete these notices as fast as they come in but for some reason I clicked on this one and I’m glad I did.
The post was by Jesse Sotomayer about digital marketing (specifically Meta). The post was concise, direct and formatted almost like a poem. The message was 100% spot, in my opinion. Below is the post, further below are the reasons I think this was a great message to get out there.
Why I liked this post so much (enough to blog about it)
What Jesse tackles is two fold:
- Digital marketing takes real marketing skills, a marketing plan, and marketing experience to make a difference for yourself or your client
- The fly-by-night “cold e-mailing” agencies pitching you low cost, high results marketing need to go away.
Jesse’s post hits home because we encounter many folks who just want to “do marketing” and will throw anything at it to “get doing it” without really knowing what they are getting into.
I see Google Adwords and paid Meta campaigns created with no other marketing plan structure in place. No utm tracking, no landing page, no fortified marketing efforts on other channels, no e-mail marketing efforts and zero measurement protocols in place. Just am isolated campaign out in the wild with a “if we make it, they will come” mentality. I can tell you after 21 years of being in the digital landscape, this always ends up badly.
Year after year we at XO Pandora here more than a handful of failed marketing efforts from friends, colleagues and clients. Sometimes we assess the damage and it’s always the same story – a marketing effort that was put in the hands of “full-stack marketers” with little to no budget so the marketing got zero love or the marketing effort was put in the hands of amateurs with amateur results and professional costs.
Most Marketing “Agencies” Need To Go Away
This is second point I took out of Jesse’s post – ChatGBT marketers, YouTube marketers or plain ol’ bottom feeders presenting themselves as “true marketing agencies” only to have the marketing depths of an intern on day 2 are rampant now.
Look, no one comes out of the womb a marketer but those who have studied or are experienced with PR, Advertising, Marketing and the Digital Landscape know things.
Getting a text only “cold e-mail” that uses generic marketing terms, a bunch of emoji’s highlighting benefit key points, no proper e-mail signature and only focused on one channel is going to be a waste of your time.
Meta and Google Adwords are exacerbating the situation by making their platforms more and more user-friendly “so anyone can market.” A true double edge sword. The user-friendly platform advances have made digital paid advertising easier and faster but this also has lowered the bar on who calls themselves a “marketer” and can take your money and pretend to handle your marketing for you.
Final Thoughts
If you need marketing, be prepared to engage with real marketers. Here’s some pro tips:
- Do homework. Do not seek a marketing agency without know what you want, what you need. Don’t throw your hands up and say “the pros will handle it.” Learn a little bit about what is out there. Be an educated buyer and understand what a Marketing Plan is.
- Grill your perspective agency. Jesse points out some key terms in his post. How does X agency handle their paid advertising campaign planning? What are their ad creation methodologies? Who have the helped in the past and what were the measurable results?
- Don’t engage a real agency with no budget expectations or knowledge of costs. If you think you can generate $100,000 in sales with a $2500 budget, you’re wasting everyone’s time. There’s a real formula to marketing ROI (ROAS).
- Be your own advocate. Just like your health, sometimes you need to make sure you advocate for what is best for your marketing goals. If you “did your homework” you’ll be able to better keep your agency and marketing efforts driving forward. Don’t disregard your agencies guidance and expertise but don’t be afraid to ask questions, challenge directions and collaborate on strategy with your marketing team.
- Marketing is not an 11th hour operation and it doesn’t present results overnight. Plan ahead and be in for the long-haul (at least 6 months).
- Stay on top of your results, good or bad. If you’re not seeing performance reports at least once-a-week, request them.
- “Stand on the shoulder of giants.” A paraphrase of Benjamin Franklin’s quote but this is the best advice when it comes to a field you’re inexperienced on. Look at what your competition is doing. Look at what others doing great marketing are doing. Beg, borrow and steal from their playbooks and put your own spin on it.